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Niven is the cream of the crop

People call it the year of the pitchers in the Rock Valley softball.

But who’s the best?

The answer may be in the eyes of the beholder, but Rock Valley coaches have selected Walworth Big Foot High School pitcher Cameron Niven as the conference Player of the Year.

The junior right-hander certainly has the numbers to carry the honor. While going 11-3 in the conference to lead her team to a second-place tie, Niven struck out 151 and walked only 10 in 87 innings. Overall, she had 203 strikeouts and allowed only 14 walks in 19 games, while compiling a 1.21 earned-run average in the conference and 1.61 overall.

“She’s been very, very consistent all three years, hovering around a 1.50 ERA,’’ Big Foot coach Melodie O’Leary said of Niven’s varsity career. “And that showed again this year.’’

Niven, an all-conference first-team repeater, highlighted her third season by pitching two no-hitters in the Rock Valley and a perfect game in a non-league win over Jefferson. She also took a perfect game into the seventh inning of a 1-0 regional tournament loss to McFarland.

“Her most impressive stat, even more so than the no-hitters, was her string of scoreless games,’’ O’Leary said.

Niven pitched seven straight shutouts and nine overall, and Big Foot contended for the Rock Valley title.

“That’s the mentality we took—that you can lose on a no-hitter, but you can’t lose on a shutout,’’ O’Leary said.

Meanwhile, other Rock Valley teams found similar success. Edgerton rode sophomore right-hander Caitlin Johnson’s 11-1 pitching record and 1.21 conference ERA to a 12-2 league record and a championship that surprised many people.

Johnson’s effort has made her the Rock Valley’s other first-team pitcher, placing the Edgerton ace ahead of senior standouts Ilse Fritz of Beloit Turner, Kara Risseeuw of Clinton and Brodhead freshman Erika Stampfli.

Fritz was a first-team selection the last two seasons, but she is on this year’s second team after being injured much of the spring.

Along with Niven, this year’s first-team repeaters are Brodhead junior outfielder Jordan Riese, Clinton senior outfielder Amy Blue and Edgerton senior shortstop Ellie McCall.

McCall hit .462 and sparked a strong defense, while senior Fawn Bingham brought stability behind the plate and a .362 batting average, and freshman right fielder Meggie Schmidt led the Crimson Tide offense with a .485 average to complete Edgerton’s first-team championship package.

“Caitlin’s strikeout-walk ratio (103-12 in her 14-3 season) was fabulous,’’ said Edgerton’s Tony DeWar, the conference Coach of the Year. “We also played good defense behind her, and we hit .326 as a team.”

In putting together in their final all-conference selections before realignment, Rock Valley coaches have completed the first team with Brodhead junior shortstop Courtney Mielke, Big Foot senior shortstop Kelsey Morris, Clinton senior shortstop Kati Campbell and Big Foot senior catcher Erika Palcic as the utility player.